After an impressive slapping down of Notre Dame, the media has responded. The Cardinal leapfrogged seven spots to ninth place in the AP poll.
Stanford’s rise from No. 16 the previous week can be attributed to several factors. Most prominently, the Cardinal romped over Notre Dame yesterday, defeating the Fighting Irish 37-14. It currently has the country’s fourth-best scoring offense and its 12th-best scoring defense.
Stanford was also helped by UCLA’s 34-12 upset of previously No. 7 Texas, since Stanford beat the Bruins 35-0 two weeks ago. Lastly, Arizona, another highly-regarded Pac-10 team, barely escaped a California team fresh off giving up 51 points to a WAC opponent.
Their rise in the Coaches Poll was a little more modest, only moving up to 13th. But they are still second in the Pac-10 overall poll rankings.
Their next opponent? The team that’s ranked first among Pac-10 teams, #4 Oregon, on the road in Autzen. The winner should instantly leap to the top of the Pac-10 championship favorite list.